Danish foreign minister stresses that talks with the US on Greenland were 'very constructive'

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said Thursday that his level of optimism has increased after holding "very constructive" talks with the United States about Greenland.

"We have had yesterday [Wednesday] the first high-level meeting in Washington on the Greenlandic issue," Rasmussen said ahead of a meeting of the E.U. in Brussels. "It went well, in a very constructive atmosphere and tone, and further meetings are planned," he assured.

"It's not that things are resolved, but it's good," said Rasmussen, who added that today he feels "a little more optimistic than a week ago."

The talks come after U.S. President Donald Trump last week backtracked on his threats to take control of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark that is part of the E.U. and NATO.

"There was a detour. Things were escalating, but now we are back on the right track," the Danish diplomat said.

A previous agreement with NATO

Donald Trump's threats regarding Greenland sparked a crisis within NATO, but the president ended up withdrawing his intention to take control of the territory after assuring that he had reached a "framework" agreement with the alliance's chief, Mark Rutte, aimed at strengthening U.S. influence.

"I have said on many occasions that of course we share the security concerns of the United States regarding the Arctic, this is something we want to solve in close cooperation," Rasmussen said.

As part of the agreement with Washington, NATO is expected to increase its presence and operations in the Arctic. In addition, Denmark and Greenland could reopen with the Trump Administration negotiation of the 1951 treaty regulating the deployment of U.S. troops on the island.